The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is waiting for the signal from ECOWAS to send 120 soldiers to the beleaguered nation of Mali.
Mostly construction engineers, the Ghanaian soldiers will provide upkeep in the form of the provision of electricity, the construction of camps and barriers for security buildings, and other services.
Currently, the Chiefs of the Defense Staff of various ECOWAS countries are attending their monthly review meeting in Mali and are likely to advise ECOWAS on when the Ghanaian troops will arrive in Mali.
Speaking in an interview, the Director of Public Affairs of the GAF, Col. Mbawine Atintande, said already the troops had been skilled and provided with sufficient resources.
Most parts of Mali have been seized by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, a branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The warning posed by the Islamic fundamentalists has been amplified by weapons that decanted in from Libya following the fall of Col. Gaddafi.
The United Nations (UN), at an emergency Security Council meeting, called for the fast deployment of an Africa-led international force to Mali, a move in line with views voiced by ECOWAS officials.
In response to the order and a request from Malian authorities, French troops as well as soldiers from Nigeria and Senegal arrived in Mali last week. Already, French forces have shelled rebel camps in Mali, where Islamist rebels have warned to advance on the capital Bamako from their stronghold in the north.
According to Col. Atintande, the period of stay for the Ghanaian forces would be determined by the condition in Mali and ECOWAS, but added that as usual they would be in the country on a six-month rotation. France said it had decided to act to stop the violent, which could create “a terrorist state at the doorstep of France and Europe.”
However, speaking at a press conference, the army official who made this statement refused to give details of France’s activities. Islamist battalions connected to al-Qaeda have taken control of the ancient town in northern Mali, Timbuktu, and other major towns in the country, forcing a large number of people to seek shelter in the capital, Bamako.